Together Alone: The Story of the Finn Brothers

From the July 18 edition of theSydney Morning HeraldandThe Age, whereTragedywas selected as their Pick of the Week:'My brother was bass guitarist for Normie Rowe when Barry Gibb played a demo of the Gibbs' latest recording at rehearsals one afternoon in Sydney. It was Spicks and Specks, the single that, after a string of flops in Oz launched the Bee Gees. Jeff Apter's record of their rise, fall and rise really gets you in. Especially those heady days in Britain in 1967 when they turned out a string of hits. But there is deep sadness in the tale too, for when they sang Tragedy they couldn't have known that was in store with the untimely death of Maurice, younger brother Andy and, more recently, Robin. Apter brings the story up to the moment, Barry Gibb, after an extended time channel surfing on his couch, rousing himself to do the Mythology tour.’ —Steven Carroll

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Tragedywas published in the UK and North America byJawbone Pressin June 2016 and a new, smaller format edition of the book was published in Australia in March 2018. You can hear me speaking about the book with radio station 4KQ.

The Waikato Times said this about Together Alone: “Apter’s fast-moving writing style makes for a detailed yet easy to read analysis of the triumphs and despairs the Finn family experienced on the way to the top of their game.” Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Bruce Elder said this: 'Apter has become Australia's most prolific musical biographer. With this biography of the Finn brothers, he attempts a task of subtlety and complexity. How does anyone tell the story of two brothers and sensitively explore all the potent jealousies and antagonisms that have characterised their deep sibling rivalry?' 'There could be no better biographer for the story of the Brothers Finn,' noted the Courier-Mail. 'In fact, it’s Apter’s encyclopedic knowledge of rock and roll history combined with his punchy prose that makes Together Alone such compelling reading.' Dan Lander of Rolling Stone wrote: 'Apter desn't hesitate to point out the flaws and failures of both men, but he does it in a way that endears them further to us. He also makes it clear that for all the rivalry, neither brother would be what he is without the other.'

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Crowded House are reforming for two shows at the Sydney Opera House, where they retired, sort of, in 1997. Read about it here.